A 2 stroke on the pipe running through gears Never gets old...adrenaline every time...LONG LIVE THE TWOEEE!!!

I was raised in the '90s and I will forever love a two-stroke. There's nothing like it

No 4-stroke will ever sound as good as a 2-stroke, ever.

I had a 1983 Honda CR480. It never seemed fair to me that the 400cc four strokes got to compete against the 250cc two strokes. My guess is most young people today have not experienced the awesome powerband of a two stroke. They need to bring them back, they truly are the essence of motocross. And so much easier to work on, fewer moving parts. You can change out pistons and rings so fast.

There is absolutely nothing like the sound of a 2 stroke!!! Oh, the memories!!!

“I know you guys don’t want to hear the 4 stroke so I’ve edited the clip” Damn you know us well 😂 Thanks for all you do for 2 strokes!

Two stroke is still my favorite in the mountains. Four strokes are great as well, but the two stroke is and always will be my choice in off road bikes.

I had a 2005 RM250 around 12 years ago. That bike was an absolute animal. It would pull up the front tire in 5th gear lol. They’re so much fun. Miss my two strokes.

They had to add 200cc to the four strokes just to compete with the 2 strokes. That says it all right there. Run a 250 2T against a 250 4T and see what's faster!

It's guys like you Max that keep the passion of true moto alive. It's easy for old men like me to sit on the porch in a rocking chair smoking a cigar mumbling how good mx was when a cloud of blue 2 stroke smoke was left behind the line after the gate dropped, but it takes someone with mx in their heart to be making videos about it when they aren't even 30 years old. I hope you make it to the States and can race my 83 KX125 at Unadilla,Southwick or Binghamton

Good video Max. Two different riding styles required to ride top notch. Suzuki looks and sounds really good. That Bills pipe and silencer work well together. jetting really sounded crisp and clean. Thanks for doing this video, enjoyed watching. Glad rider was ok from his big get off.

Imagine where the 2 strokes would be had they kept being developed. We used to take the '90 cr500 on the ice, couldn't keep the front wheel down. It was bored out as well, thing was mental.

Can you imagine had two strokes continued to be improved, 20 years later just how fast would they be?

That RM sounded killer, even when they had a stock pipe they sounded sweet, I remember my k7 model as one of my favorite bikes.Hope the dude is ok. Iv been using CUSTOM MX for my graphics for many years they are very helpful good value and good quality. Said it before and say it again this is the best 2 smoke channel on the whole grid, keep em coming max

That 2t sounds great! I grew up on 2ts (although my very first bike was an XR50 back in '89). Had a CR60, a KDX80, a KDX200, and finally my dad's '88 CR250 that I still have. I didn't get into track riding until I was in my mid 20s, and my CR was outdated equipment. It didn't take long for my buddies to convince me to "upgrade" to a 4t. So I bought a used 2003 CRF450R. Honestly, I loved that bike the moment I clicked it into gear, and I still love it. I've had that bike for 15 years and I never get tired of riding it, but whenever I jump on the old CR, I find a smile on my face that only the 2t can supply.

I had a 2001 rm 250 two stroke. My buddy had a brand new 2011 rm 450. I rode it. I thought it's not $7,000 better. I feel like bikes aren't getting much better than 20 years ago.

Might not be a Rm but i absolutely love my CR250. The sound when its on the pipe is just perfection. Yeah the torque of the 4s is insane but the insanity of the 2 stroke power band always makes you clentch them ass cheeks and hold on for your life.

I miss my 2006 RM a lot, it was 2mm over with porting. Pulled good and smooth, handled awesome. Come on Mr. Suzuki lets pump out some new machines. Enjoyed the vid . Braaap

I've never had the "just shot out of a canon" feeling my old YZ-490 had on any four stroke. You aimed the 490 and pulled the trigger, in the time it took to blink you were there.

Top video mate! There's just something raw and delicious about a 2E spooling up that a 4T will never match! Way back to the early years, the sound of the MX's,TM's, CR's and Huskies, CZ's and Hodakas ripping it for turn one will never be forgotten. And, add that Klotz oil for the smell and Nirvana is just over the next jump!

Damn brother looking good on that RM, smooth like butter

I don't think they've made a 4-stroke motocross bike yet that is as long-lived and dependable as the old smokers. When you lighten and tune a 4-stroke to run with the fastest 2-strokes, you will definitely sacrifice a degree of durability. All those extra moving parts that have been whittled down to their smallest possible size and weight are a recipe for wear and failure. The old 2-strokes, with just their cranks, rods and pistons for major moving parts, were just easier for regular people to own, keep running and enjoy for years and years. You could also kick start one with your hand - literally! I miss 'em.

Great vid! I used to race locally a 1988 KX 125 two-stroke and loved it. I now ride a four-stroke sport touring bike but miss my two-strokes. My most beloved was a 1985 Honda MTX200 dual sport which was a two-stroke in South Africa.

I rode a 2003 CR500. It was one of the scariest and most exhilarating experiences I have ever had.

Love the sound of a 2 stroke! Brings back great memories.

The Sound of the RM is really astonishing

I’m a 2 stroke fan forever. Just the sound makes me smile. At 7:20 that RM looks very fast.

Rode both. Loved the throttle response on the 2 stroke. A 4 stroke will never have that kind of throttle response. I would choose the 2 stroke any day over the 4.

The real test is if u put up the RM against 4s of that day..no serious improvements have been made to smokers since '06

Niiiice! Love that sound. Was racing a 1981 (shorter stroke) RM250 grass kart for many years. Had a custom pipe, programable CDI with flat shift trigger, and ran on av gas. It sounded even crisper than this later RM! With a rev limit at 9,500 it would wind up pretty hard! Great fun, but needed plenty of respect too ;)

I have never owned a 4-stroke MX bike but I grew up on several 2-strokes up to a big bore RM250 that had terrifyingly explosive power delivery. My KLR650 was a 4-stroke and had smooth torque and excellent power but on a 400lb bike with a 220lb rider (OK I got bigger as I grew up LOL) it was more than adequate. I don't have any reference but for me, nothing will ever replace the sound and feel of a 2-stroke.

Being on a bike, nothing compares that 2-cycle hit!

Four-strokes still sound weird to me. My son thinks two-strokes sound annoying. Different experiences I guess. I absolutely love the smell of race fuel and MC1 and the howl of a high RPM two stroke flying down a straight. It never gets old. My son thought all the old two-strokes were super slow until he rode my wife's 86 ATC 250R. He couldn't believe it. That thing is heavy and detuned. The CRs were much quicker. Now, about the CR 500R...

You opened the powder keg of motocross war. Nice video and even a older vs. new model bike. I have two friends with blown up 2022 four strokes. That Suzuki was a well tuned machine. I think it’s the sound of the radical power band that makes people like 2 strokes.. POW !

Loved my Husky CR250. Went everywhere with it: mountains, deep woods, mud, tundra, wouldn’t’ve traded it for the world. Then in my old age (57-ish) I rode a Christini 450 thumper with front wheel drive and recluse clutch, and I could point that puppy straight up a mountain side and go places I would have really struggled with on the Husky, and it was a cake walk. I gained a real appreciation for the 4s torque, plus the extra pull from the front wheel meant I didn’t have to lay on the handlebars to keep the front end down while simultaneously keeping traction. (some places have long, steep climbs, like near the tops of mountains) That was an awesome bike.

My buddy kept telling me to get a 250 or 450 4 stroke when I was looking for a bike. Being a fan of 2 strokes since I was young I ended up getting a 2002 rm250 and I'm glad I did, It's a fun bike to ride. The suspension isn't as good as his 450 but that could just because of the age of my bike. Plus 2 strokes just sound awesome

125 ring dingers are still the most fun dirtbikes to ride. I restore one back from the dead every now and then, and it's always a struggle to list it for sale. People always come back from a ride with a grin on their face, in a way that they don't on 250/450f's. My favorite is the '00-01 YZ125. They always seemed to have the best balance of chassis, motor and suspension. I have yet to ride an RM but I really would like to find a 2000's RM125 and restore it.

The sound of the em really was perfection!!

To this day the sound of that 2-stroke blasting through the gears brings back so many memories of my teen years in the 80s. I owned a 1978 RM-125 and all my friends rode 2-strokes as well. The sound, the power band, the smell of the premix exhaust. There's nothing like it.

You're always just as happy when you see a video with old 2 stroke's bikes that prove that you can have fun and go fast with an old bike.. I myself have an RM 250 2007 :)

Rm 250 have always been a nice bike to ride. They handle so well

I just rebuilt a 1999 Kawa kx250sr in 2022 and I can tell you that it’s considerably more expensive to get done these days and parts availability is limited compared to in 2012. 2strokes will NEVER die because of how they make us feel. Learning how to use a real powerband is magic.

Sold my rmz450 for a fully restored rm250 by a long time mx race mechanic. I had alot more falls on hard turns with the rmz450 too. I just love the sound and smell of the castor 927 when I'm ripping on the track and have my fiancée on an 85 so I can always hear and smell that sweet 2 stroke

Great vid!!! Would love to see a classic RM go up against a a modern KTM 250

Really liking my new YZ250 2 banger, only choice for a 50 year old having fun, might get a 4 banger when i retire, lol, great content again Max.

I love the two stroke engine...and I once for everyday transport rode a 2001 Honda 'Repsol' NSR150SP (single cylinder - two stroke) for about 2 years or so. Even though it was a small bike with a small engine...it was a bunch of fun - and quick for it's engine size. Awesome video by the way...thanks!🙂

Waited 16yrs for this.thanks

Reminds me of my teenage days. Started with a Keystone minibike at 12 (two stroke with clutch) then a Yamaha 80 then Suzuki RM125. Eventually ended up on the Kawasaki KX250. Back then I would sometimes use Castor oil for pre-mix. Love that smell. Had a Suzuki GT550 for a street bike. Two stroke all the way!!! Yes kids, that was in the mid 70's to mid 80's

2-stroke engines are simply more energetic. 4-stroke dirtbikes never had that urgency of excitement. Hearing them back to back is like all the fun just ended when the 4-stroke arrived. Lol

I love the last gen rm! I had an 07 rmz450 and it was a beast. 4speed but real hard hit. Sure would be interesting to see a back to back!

Love the 2wee and if I had to buy a new bike it would definitely be a 2wee! My son races the GNCC series currently on a GG 250 4 stroke in fact I’m heading out to Florida at noon today and gonna go to the Supercross in Daytona!! My kids and my grandson make it there every year since 14 ! Sorry got off subject 😂 but I still love the 2 stroke and love the test you and your mates do! Thanks man

Great video I love my restored 1995 CR250.

Any footage of the crash other than the on board perspective? Always interesting to analyze timing mistakes without actually getting creamed.

the last suzuki RM250's were known as the most powerful 2 stroke of all the manufacturers. there were a few things that contributed to that but the biggest were the power jet design in the carb and the form of reeds used. I had an rm250 for a long time and it outran the 4 strokes of its day pretty well.

I have an original low hour 2005 rmz 450...it's beefy and amazing. One day I'll have an 05 or 06 rm 250 too. Thank you so much for this video !!

Race lap times would be better than single lap times simply because of the competition pushing you to the edge. Thank you for sharing. Have a blessed day.

Great video Max, loving the action shot's at the track absolutely fantastic work, your not wrong the RM sounds brilliant, in my book the RM wins hands down, great work again Max, looking forward to the next video.

Glad that Ed is ok. Great video. I remember Micheal Pichon winning 2 MXGP championships in 2001 and 2002 on the RM250. He gave Everts a good run in 2003 on the RM250 but Everts had the 4 stroke?yamaha at that point . I never thought it was right to have 250 2 strokes in a class with 4 strokes that are double the displacement. I always said they should be in the 250 class with the 250f bikes. I’ve got an 02 RM 250 that is the best MX bike I’ve ever owned and it’s in my Will to go to my sons👍🏼

as someone that owns an 02' RM250 and a 21' CRF250R, I can say that the RM is fun when you can rip it wide open at the dunes or anywhere that you are just wanting to put some wide open miles in. My 250R however, its super smooth power delivery, front end is much more planted, bike geometry feels better in almost every way and its a lot less taxing on you to ride. For these reasons, my RM is basically a garage ornament and I take the honda when I go to the track.

No comments on this yet! When I see and SMELL that 2stroke oil exhaust, I begin salivating! & tripping out missing the old days. Loved hill climbing & trail riding the mountains of N. Utah.

Long Live...2 Strokes. Nothing like the smell of Castrol Oil exhaust, filling the air with it's aroma .

I still ride 2 stroke and I love it!

The 06 rm250 was a great bike. My best friend who went off to basic left his at my house and when my yz250 suspension was at pro circuit. I actually raced it twice and really liked it. I mean to be fair its no yz250. But it has really good midrange power, doesn't go flat on top and i liked the forks too. I was surprised. On the first track i raced on it (Stead, NV USA) the track is a lot of baby powder on top of cement and big jumps so you have to tiptoe to scrub. But the next race was Fernley, NV and thats a wide open sand track and i had a ton of fun. Slight wallow on g outs, the front end likes to push a bit on whooped out corners, and the suspension was too soft for my pace but, i still grabbed the schoolboy pro win in MXwest. When i did get my blue beauty back together with that pro circuit suspension, my god. Lets just say it reinforced me being a die hard Yamaha guy. I bleed blue. Ill never own another brand of motorcycle...or acoustic guitar.

I still have my 06' RC replica RM 250!! About 7K in upgrades / A-kit and all that. I have two newer Husky's here.....and still to this day , the RM is probably the most perfect 250 2 stroke ever made.

Now that's a dream bike!

I tried pretty hard to land a good 06+ RM250 but ended up with a decent 03 YZ250 instead. It’s a great bike, no complaints, but I still find myself checking the classifieds occasionally. lol

I love those old 2 strokes. I'm 66 and grew up driving them. I still have a Yamaha RZ500 I bought new in 1985. It's in almost mint condition.

Sounds great. 👍

It will be good to know how much the 14 years of evolution of the 450's chassis, weight, suspension and breaks influenced in the 450's advantage over the 2 stroke 250. Cheers

2022 Vet class at Loretta, older fella raced Maico 490 (81), vs 2022 450 and finished top 25. . Amazing. Ryan hushes last year raced 85 cr250 against modern machinery in 40+ and finished 3rd overall. They are still competitive, and cheap to operate.

I had a 2008 RM250 with the unplated Pro Circuit Works Pipe and shorty silencer. Sounded just like this bike. Never met a person who didn't love the sound of it. A snarling, spitting beast.

I raced mx in 1972-75, 2 stroke Yamaha 250mx. I loved it, but the one everyone wanted to ride was the Maco 250 or 400. Such low end power, low rumble. One of the coolest looking bikes.

In all honesty it just comes down to the 4 strokes being much easier and "lazier" to ride, the two strokes you have to be on the ball the whole time and are much more tiring to ride. I'm no racer so that doesn't apply to me so I'll be sticking to my 2 stroke madness for a while yet

I know around a track I'll ride way faster on my dad's sxf250 than my 05 kx250 but the kx is just my favourite bike ever. Solid, reliable, fun, but maybe a bit unpredictable. When the motor was on its last legs after 8 years of riding and I don't know how many hours I tore it down and found the skirt of the piston was cracked and about to totally let go but it just kept going. Very tough bike.

Great video!

Great video Max

I think a big factor here is the softish terrain of that track. I always felt really fast on my old RM on these types of tracks. A four stroke has a huge advantage on hard pack, or slick clay tracks and also flat or off camber corners. A two stroke slides all over the place in those conditions. It is exhausting and you will make mistakes. Unfortunately east coast of Australia doesn’t have many sandy or loamy tracks so sadly I gave up and went to the dark side.

A 2 stroke RM with that powerband. They're just so fun for a kid. Had '82 RM 80 was a blast.

Loved this thank you, as an owner of a 2005 RM250 with Bills Pipe! Long live the 2 stroke! I really really hate the noise of the four strokes.

if he’s accustomed to that 4 stroke and has ridden that competitively for years, but hasn’t hardly touched a 2 stroke, then the lap times are obviously going to be effected. He could definitely shave some time off the 2 stroke time after more practice.

With pro riders the 4 strokes will always have faster lap times. They have massive torque from top to bottom so you don't have to be on the pipe the whole time. But idgaf. The 2 strokes are way more fun to ride. The way the power comes on is explosive and a blast. Whack the throttle and hang wheelies in almost every gear. Clutchless power shifts at 10k rpm. Massive corner speeds and burm blasts. VP race fuel and maxima castor oil smells amazing. The sound they make. I love them. I'm not a racer so Ima stick with the 2 strokes.

I was a Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki shop mechanic in the '80s and I loved working on and test riding the 2 strokes. My personal bike was a 2 stroke Husqvarna 250. Wish I had that bike today.

great video ! the sound of the RM250 is certainly more adrenal. i have seen friends who were more aggresive/fearless RM drivers , i think they might have bettered the 4T. me RM250 is the last bike i rode, i ate trees like an angry beaver, then asked my buddy to stop laughing so i could inventory myself, once OK, i said laugh away...

Love 2 stroke bikes, way easier to work on and a lot cheaper

i went from a wr 250 to a 09 yz 250 and ill never forget how hard it felt to hold onto the handle bars first few laps around a track lmao

2003 RM 500cc was the last 2 stroke bike I raced, 20 years ago, you just turned the throttle, stared at the sky and passed everything on one wheel. Absolute beast! And not forgetting, if you slupped on the kick, the kick back would break a leg, could only be started with full motox boots on lol

2T vs 4T is a bit like 2WD vs 4WD, different beasts, different ways to tame them. The 2’s are definitely more fun, the 4’s once tamed are ultimately faster, speed around a track is directly determined by grip. I remember back in the second half of the 80’s my friend Husqvarna 250 2T, during high school he was competing and we were using the school facilities to prepare, service and customise it, we were all studying mechanical engineering and thermodynamics, we were building the exhausts, working on fuel intakes, gears, we created a killer monster, no one was able to take of in first gear on tarmac and only the bravest in second, it was a wheels up to 5th, we created a perfect field ploughing machine, in the end for him to actually be competitive on the track we had to tune it back down.

The sound of a 2stroke is always entertaining

Would be interested to see a modern Enduro 2ST 300 tuned and geared for mx (or just stock) go against a 450 4ST mx bike.

I never rode a dirt bike, but I did own an air cooled single cylinder 135cc Yamaha in India since 2002 which I ported and polished with updated internals and a loud pipe! That thing was mental, and I still miss its raw power delivery with zero pull down low but mad acceleration post 6000rpm all the way until 9000 revs. These 2 strokes really teach you the importance of maintaining machines properly and handling that insane surge of power!

My 81 KX420 upgeared to the max must have been knocking on the door of 90 mph !! It sure felt like it when I came to a very sudden stop ! That's the painful bit , but to this day I don't regret a single minute of it !! You know you're alive 😁😁 I think that's why my 89 rm250 lives next to the bed ! Far safer 👍👍👍

Good job, what about seeing the results of a full on moto, say 15 -20 laps ? mmmm 🍀🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿👍🙏

4 stroke dirtbikes scare the hell out of me. They are strung out to the limit and when they blow up, its easily a complete catastrophic failure. Theyre heavier and make less HP per/cc than a 2 stroke and are 10x more complicated. I feel like companies didnt like that racers could rebuild their engine at home.. They needed more dealership visits.

The Suzy sounded awesome. Great video. I'm happy you can still buy a YZ 250.

Man, nothing like the sound of a 2 stroke "on the pipe". We used to love the bikes that ran Bel-Ray oil, smelled so good! 👍I was lucky enough to see Roger Decoster dicing with Marty Smith (RIP) at the Puyallup Trans Am when I was a kid. I still have the autographed picture from Decoster. Those were the days.

If the mate riding the RM was used to riding two strokes, I really think his time would've been another second or two faster.

Would've been amazing if you got charmichael back on that thing!

There is something impressive and awe-inspiring about hearing a deep humming four-stroke with only half the number of revolutions jerk violently and jerkily from a squealing two-stroke that revs so much that the engine is about to explode, and yet it does not move appreciably in relation to it fearsome and deep-humming four-strokes with only half the number of revolutions.

2 stroke yesteday, now and forever. If a new 4 stoke 450 is 1" quicker then a 14 years old 2 stroke 250, there's no evolution. In 14 years 2 stroke never stopped improving, just think about the artic cat snowmobile: 800 cc 160 hp, twin cilynder. Just imagine a 400cc dirt bike with 80hp... Aside from engine performance, tyres and suspensions made their part, so I think really there is no evolution with the 4 bangers. And let's not speak about maintenance.... I have no dirt bikes experience whatsoer, but I love my 1993 RD350, bought back in 1994 and still riding. Great video, great sound, thanks a lot!!!

I was 16 in 2006 and I remember getting dirtbike mag and reading how good all the 2 strokes were. Amazing year for bikes in general.